Manage-Wise

Amplify your presentations

Some people seem to have been born with the ability to captivate an audience, which can be intimidating to those of us who don’t think we have any natural talent. The truth is that more than likely, even the most gifted speaker has had to work hard to make his presentation engaging and flawless. While some people may be naturally extroverted, funny, or charismatic, the rest of us need to work at it—and we can.

What this means is that with a little effort you can convince your audience that you have a natural talent for presenting, and it will be well worth your time to do so. Not only will you be successful at sharing information and inspiring your audience into action, but the poise you gain from speaking in public will carry over into an extra boost of confidence in your daily interactions. Learning to prepare for speaking to a large audience and leading a workshop are great ways to gain confidence and develop your ability to communicate effectively.

Presenting to a large audience

Sarah is approaching the entrance of the auditorium where she is about to speak in front of the largest audience she has ever faced. The murmur and muted chatter she can hear from the assembled crowd seems to drill a hole directly into her stomach. I was fine speaking in front of eight people the other day, she thinks. Why am I freaking out now?

It is not unusual for even a seasoned speaker to find her confidence shaken by a new situation, especially when it’s her first experience in front of a large crowd. When the audience is comprised of a sea of faces you have never met before, the anxiety can hit suddenly, seemingly robbing you of every last bit of your poise and self-assurance. Public speaking is humanity’s number one fear, but like all fears, it can be faced and conquered, even if it involves large audiences.

The term “large audience” is relative and can mean different things to different people. In our experience, most people refer to audiences of 100 and up as a “large” audience. That’s because their speaking opportunities and assignments are often limited to small to medium-sized groups of between 8 to 50 participants, typically consisting of peers, colleagues, or clients. Thus, an audience of 100 or more can seem particularly intimidating or unmanageable.

Now imagine an audience of 500, 1000, 5000, 10000, and up. Is there any way to connect with so many people? How does a speaker make use of the all-important eye contact to establish rapport with so many people? And what about the speaker’s voice, gestures, and proximity to the audience in order to get his or her message across?

The simple answer is that you still use all of those attributes to connect with your very large audience; you just have to amplify them.

Think for a moment of the speakers you’ve heard, perhaps even witnesses in person, who had to address audiences of many hundreds or even thousands. Some of the events where an audience of a very large size is customary include political rallies, Fortune 500 corporate shareholder meetings, large-scale religious events in so-called super churches, self-help seminars a la Anthony Robbins, graduation commencement speeches, and, for particularly prolific speakers, media events that are broadcast to millions.

The power of technology

The only way you can effectively share yourself with an audience of “super-size” proportions is to amplify your presentation and communication tools. Specifically, this means you have to make use of microphones, cameras, large-screen monitors, and a platform or stage where people can see you without obstructions.

With the help of audiovisual technology, you can get as close to the audience as you need to in order to get your message across. With close-ups and camera angles, you are merely inches away from every person in the audience. With the help of wireless microphones, you don’t even have to stay in one place, but are free to move about your platform. With the help of microphones you’re also able to use the nuances of your vocal tonality for dramatic impact, as there is no need to shout or even speak up. Your voice can easily be heard in the remotest corner of your stadium, if that’s your venue.

There is an important middle ground however, and that is the presentation or speech where expensive technology is unavailable, but the crowd is still large enough for the speaker’s message to get lost.

In these situations, remember the following:

Exaggerate your gestures. If your listeners can’t see you and the output of your passion and emotion—your gestures and facial expressions—they can’t be touched by it. Think of it this way: If we see an old friend across the street, we may say hello with the wave of a hand and a smile. But if he or she were a block away, we’d have to wave our arms and lift our voices for the friend to notice us. It’s perhaps a silly analogy, but too often, inexperienced speakers who present to a large audience literally “disappear” in front of the crowd because they can’t be perceived effectively, visually and audibly.

Lift your voice. Hope-fully you’ll have use of a microphone, but without one you’ll still have to make sure the audience can hear your message. Even the person in the worst seat of the house should be able to hear you clearly. Also, vary the speed of your talk and adjust your inflections and volume as appropriate. Remember that your voice must now work harder in carrying your message to its target.

Remove any obstructions to the audience’s view. Make sure they can see you well and you can see them. Don’t just speak to those in the front row because you can see their eyes well. Focus their attention also on the faces in the back and to the sides of the venue.

Move purposefully and project energy. Nothing is more tiresome for a large audience, particularly the members in the back of the room, than staring at a focal point in the centre way up front. Don’t let them tune out just because you chose to stand behind a podium like a statue. Engage them with physical movement and toward them to emphasize a point. Walk from one side of the stage to the other to capture their attention. Think of your speech as a well-choreographed performance where every movement has a purpose in getting the message across.

Don’t blend in with your surroundings. Make sure that your outfit can be distinguished from your background. Choose strong colours that support your visual image so that your audience can pick you out from any distracting visuals or background on the stage.

Ask the audience to stand up during Q&A. Well, not all of them, but the people asking the questions. Since we’re assuming in this case that you don’t have the use of boom microphones to amplify individual audience members’ voices, ask them to stand up when asking questions. You can walk toward them, while other audience members can hear and see them and understand the questions better than if the questioners remain seated. Repeat the questions before you answer them to be sure than the entire audience hears them.

Excerpt from ‘The Confident Speaker’ by Harrison Monarth and Larina Kase.Reproduced with permission © 2007, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited.